Ocean's Infiltrator Read online

  She came running. "You shouldn't use that kind of language around Marina. What is it?"

  "She's…she's…" I stammered. It was my first time helping Marina wash herself in the bath.

  Vanessa walked into the bathroom, looking worried. "What's happened?"

  I pointed wordlessly at the bath, where Marina giggled under the water.

  Vanessa marched up to the bathtub. "Now, Marina, I told you not to show your tail in front of humans."

  Marina squeaked something and giggled again.

  "English. We speak English when there's humans around," Vanessa said.

  Marina popped her head out of the water. "But Mummy, I asked Daddy if he wanted to see me swim. He said yes!"

  I'd agreed to it like any father who wanted to see his little girl show off. I didn't expect her to splash me with a silvery tail where her legs had been and stay under the surface of the bath indefinitely.

  Vanessa's arm around me was steady. I realised that I was shaking. "Marina, your Daddy is a very special human. He's allowed to see your tail and mine. But even your Daddy isn't used to seeing tails in his bathtub. I'd like you not to show your tail unless I'm showing mine, please. "

  Marina pouted. "Yes, Mummy." She screwed her little face up in concentration. The silvery skin seemed to retract around her legs as it returned to a more normal colour. Within a few moments, I had a normal little girl with skinny little legs in the bathtub again.

  Together, we dried her off, dressed her in a pair of pyjamas and put her to bed.

  "Goodnight, Daddy," Marina said as she gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Did you like my swimming?"

  "Yes, sweetheart," I replied. "And you have a very pretty tail. As pretty as Mummy's."

  "Do you have a tail, Daddy?" she asked.

  "No, Marina, I'm a human. Humans don't have tails," I told her. "Good night."

  I sat with Vanessa on the sofa, still not entirely calm from my panic earlier.

  "I'm sorry, Joe," Vanessa said softly. "Marina's only a little girl and she forgets."

  I tried to smile. "Yeah, one minute I'm bathing a little girl, the next minute there's a snapper in the bath." I tried to voice one of the questions swirling through my head. "Why is her tail silver? Aren't they all the same colour as yours?"

  "No, we're all different," Vanessa responded. "I think Marina's will darken as she gets older, probably to the pale ice blue of her eyes."

  "So mermaid tails are all different shades of blue?" I asked.

  "No. Maria's is dark blue, but Belinda's is gold. Her daughter, Zerafina, has an orange tail. If you see her quickly, she looks like a giant goldfish." Vanessa smiled at some memory of Belinda's goldfish daughter.

  "Belinda has kids?" I couldn't imagine the ice queen condescending to sleep with anyone.

  "Just one. Zerafina is almost nine years old, now."

  I cleared my throat. "What about your other deckie?"

  She laughed. "Maria was a deckie for three months. That hardly makes it her chosen career path." She turned serious. "Maria's daughter is around sixteen, now. Maybe seventeen. She's almost ready to be an adult."

  I couldn't wrap my head around it. "Maria has a teenage daughter? She must have gotten pregnant really young."

  Vanessa frowned. "She was older than I was, when I had my first child."

  "She's older than you? Wow, you both look the same age. Do all of your people only have one child?" I asked her.

  She smiled again. "Most of us do. One is enough to maintain the population. We don't need to have any more."

  What I'd give for her to get pregnant with more of my children. To see her tummy swell and know we'd created a new life together…

  "Don't you want to have more children?" I blurted out.

  "I think I have as much as I can handle already," Vanessa said shortly. She stood up, starting to smile. "But if this is your roundabout way of suggesting we go to bed and practice making another child, I'm definitely up for it." She led the way to the bedroom.

  I had other questions, but the burning one now was: What colour underwear is she wearing and how soon will she take it off?

  16. Laila

  "You must be tired after your long journey, Ambassador Cantrella," the Atlantic Elder said smoothly, "I am Zelia, Facilitator of the Elder Council of the Atlantic. Permit me to escort you to the Black palace, so you may rest." She moved to Mother's side and beckoned for her to follow.

  Mother graciously swam with Elder Zelia away from the assembled people. Ignored and insecure, I followed behind as closely as I dared. The two Elders' undulations were both stately and slow, leaving me ample time to look at the people who flanked us.

  Perhaps it was their expressions, but I found their faces and bodies unattractive. Does their seeming hostility and my fear cloud my perception? I reflected. It was not a matter of colour, for they were as many colours as my own people, but of shape. One had an overly large nose, one had crooked features and one had a particularly short tail. One appeared to have no chin whilst the one beside her had a jaw so large it dwarfed the rest of her face.

  I had not noticed that our people were particularly favoured in both feature and figure until I saw the contrast presented by the sisters of the Atlantic. Both Sirena and Darma had told us many times that it was important for our survival that both we and our progeny were pleasing to the eyes. We were commanded to join only with humans who inspired feelings of attraction within us, so that our children might have similar attraction in the future.

  I wondered what the Atlantic sisters bred for in their children. Were the humans around their ocean so ugly that they held only minimal attraction? Or did the Atlantic sisters breed for different qualities altogether? It did not appear from those I saw that they bred for beauty.

  I longed for my friend and for my teachers, so that I might ask them my questions. I missed Estella's sweet insight, where she could see to the heart of a matter and explain it patiently to me. The thought of my friend's face and round form made me ache to see her again, though she was an ocean away.

  I shook myself from my sadness. I was a child ambassador to a foreign people and I must learn as much as I could, so that I could bring back stories to make Estella's eyes shine with excitement and the Council bow to me, as they waived the need for me to join with a human in honour of my courage in doing a different duty. I knew I dreamed of what could never come to pass, but even I dared to hope it would be.

  Angry, I began to look around me. The Atlantic sisters were fewer in number now, as we approached a part of the city that was more ruined than the palace we had come from. The palace we proceeded toward was dark and empty.

  "…we have had limited time to prepare for your arrival, so I hope you will forgive your accommodations. The Black palace has been in disarray since the last of your line died. We have prepared the two largest sleeping quarters for you and your daughter. Should you require any assistance, please do not hesitate to ask. Once you are rested, we shall summon the Council to formally welcome an honoured visitor from so far…" Elder Zelia continued without cease, with Mother nodding in response. Mother seemed too tired to speak and her movements betrayed some pain. Perhaps her years had started to catch up with her, though she was only twice my age, far younger than her partner or the other Elders on the Council.

  I did not dare to interrupt and followed my elders into the dark of the Black palace, hoping that the morning would improve my impression of this gloomy place.

  17. Joe

  I arrived at my parents' house first. Vanessa and Marina would arrive a little later, in her car. She'd laughed when I said she should stay away for her own safety, but she didn't know my mother and I did.

  "Hi, Mum," I said, kissing her as I went into the house.

  "I thought you'd be back before the weekend, Giuseppe. Was it such a difficult job this time?" Mum was making lunch and it smelled good.

  No one calls me Giuseppe except Mum. Now she's going to flip out...

  "Mum, can y
ou sit down a minute? I need to tell you something." I felt like a five-year-old who'd broken her heirloom vase throwing a football around the lounge room. No, I felt like the five-year-old who'd broken an even more valuable vase after getting in trouble for breaking the first one.

  "Have you met a girl? Are you finally going to give me grandchildren?" Mum sat down, suddenly excited.

  I thought of Marina swimming in the bath last night and closed my eyes, trying to keep calm.

  I took a deep breath and tried to get the words out slowly. "Actually, I met this girl almost four years ago. I haven't seen her for a while, but I saw her again recently and she's agreed to marry me."

  "Why would she stay away from you so long?" Mum frowned.

  I hesitated. Because she's not human and she was living in the depths of the ocean, in the mermaid city. "Um, she's a teacher, and she's been teaching at remote places overseas. It's been hard to stay in contact, until she came back to Australia."

  "So, when do plan on marrying this girl?" Mum asked, suspiciously.

  I smiled. Tomorrow, if I could. "As soon as I can."

  "What's the hurry? Is she pregnant?" Mum demanded.

  I heard a car engine in the driveway and a door slamming. Oh thank God, she's here.

  I opened the front door to let Vanessa in. Marina clung to her legs, hidden behind Vanessa.

  "Mum, this is Vanessa, the woman I'm going to marry," I said proudly.

  Vanessa stepped inside cautiously, but she was smiling.

  I turned to look at Mum. She shoved away from the table and strode toward Vanessa. I'd never seen my mother look short before, but she did in front of Vanessa.

  "Are you after my boy's money? Did you get pregnant so you could catch my boy?" Mum demanded of Vanessa. "He's a good boy with a good job and he's about to buy a house. Don't you think you can seduce that out of him."

  Vanessa looked puzzled, but her smile didn't falter. "Mrs Fisher, I have a lovely house of my own in East Fremantle, down near the water. I also have a house on Rat Island, up at the Houtman Abrolhos, and a fishing boat that can comfortably house my family. I think you'll find that Joe's money or property is the last thing I'm interested in."

  Mum didn't ease up. "You're not showing yet. Are you sure you're pregnant?"

  I cleared my throat. "Actually, Mum, we're not planning a baby at the moment."

  "Then why the rush to get married?" Mum demanded.

  "I have no reason to wait, and it's important to Joe if we're going to live together. He'd like us to be married, and so I agreed," Vanessa said calmly.

  Marina picked this moment to peer out from behind Vanessa. "Who's the gwumpy lady, Mummy?"

  Vanessa shushed her, as Mum launched a fresh onslaught.

  "You're trying to get my Giuseppe to take care of some kid whose father left you?" Mum's voice rose to a screech.

  I opened my mouth but no words came out, because I had no idea how to even start explaining to Mum about Marina. While I did my best fish impression, ironically it was Vanessa who seemed more human.

  Her voice was cool with steel. "Joe has expressed a wish to take care of his own child, and we have agreed that he should have the opportunity to do so."

  Oh shit. Mum turned on me. "You got a girl pregnant three years ago and didn't tell me? You just left her?"

  Vanessa stepped between my mother and I. "I didn't tell him about it. Marina was born while I was away and communication was difficult. Joe only met our daughter last week, when we were visiting the Abrolhos for some camp maintenance."

  Mum was struggling for words now. "You…"

  Marina detached herself from Vanessa's leg and planted her feet firmly on the floor, looking up at her grandmother. "Don't you yell at my Mummy and Daddy. That's not nice."

  Oh my God. It's volcanic Vanessa, mixed with my mother at her maddest. In miniature.

  Silence and statues in Mum's kitchen. Vanessa seemed to be smothering laughter, but her small smile said plenty; I choked down rising panic as Mum looked like she was fighting something for sure. Still, Mum was the first of us to move.

  She stiffly dropped down into a crouch, so she was on a level with Marina. "I'm your Daddy's Mummy, and it's my job to tell him off if he does something wrong. Doesn't your Mummy tell you off sometimes, too?"

  Marina pouted. "Not when I'm a good girl."

  Mum laughed. "Are you going to be a good girl?"

  "I am a good girl," Marina insisted.

  "Then you can have a biscuit, if you like," Mum told her, smiling, as she climbed laboriously to her feet. She went over to the fridge and pulled down the biscuit tin. She pulled off the lid and held it out to Marina.

  Marina looked at Vanessa instead of the tin.

  Vanessa nodded. "You may eat one of your grandmother's biscuits, but remember your manners."

  Marina took a biscuit. "Thank you, gwandmother," she mumbled around the biscuit.

  "Nonna," Mum corrected her. "I am your Nonna, Marina."

  I breathed again.

  18. Sirena

  "Don't touch that!" an angry female voice shouted, followed by the appearance of the woman herself.

  Marina glared at the angry woman, ready to reply in kind, but I shook my head and she subsided.

  The woman's expression shifted from angry to condescending. "Do you have an appointment?"

  I forced myself to smile, despite my distaste. "No, we've just arrived in Perth. We've been out of mobile range…"

  "Then you'll have to make an appointment before we'll see you," she interrupted, to my annoyance.

  "You see me now," I replied. "I just wanted to try on a couple of dresses to check my size and leave with one…"

  She laughed unpleasantly. "You make an appointment like everyone else, so we have time to assist you properly, then you can place your order and collect it in three months when it's ready." She looked me up and down with distaste. "That's how it works, dear."

  I stood up and gestured to Marina to take my hand. "I will not make an appointment, for I don't believe you're capable of assisting me at all. If I wanted to wait three months, I'd contract a designer like Leona Edmiston to do me a custom dress." I swept out of the shop, trying not to laugh at the shocked look on the rude woman's face.

  I was thoroughly sick of wedding dress shopping and I'd only ventured into one shop.

  The next shop on my list was considerably smaller, with a pink façade. "Designs by Michèle" was written in white script across the bright pink.

  Michèle had staff who were far more polite and I agreed to try on a pretty white dress that reminded me of the distant past. Far from my future as Joe's wife, the first of my people in the Indian Ocean to marry a human. I breathed deeply, steadying myself, as I stepped out of the changing room and in front of the mirrors.

  "Just like Ariel, Mummy," Marina breathed in awe.

  The shop assistant smiled as I struggled to take the three steps to the mirror. The enormous skirt on this dress made those steps more difficult than walking through water. I looked lovely in the mirror, of course, if I ignored my pained expression.

  "Let's try it with a veil," the shop assistant suggested, reaching for something filmy and white that she draped over my head.

  I felt like a corpse, shrouded in white sailcloth, about to be buried at sea. I thought of Giuseppe, lost to the waters so many years ago, and shook my head. I pulled the veil off. "No," I replied. "I want something different, without such a huge skirt. Something simpler."

  I struggled back to the change room and my own clothes, so I could stroll through the shop and look at other options.

  "A water dress, Mummy!" Marina shouted from across the shop and I followed the sound of her voice to the garment she pointed at.

  The dress was placed beside something enormous and white, with a big veil that was partially draped over it. I lifted the filmy white fabric, then dropped it again, admiring the effect.

  "That one," I said to the shop assistant, pointing at the half-hid
den dress.

  "But that's a bridesmaid dress…" she began.

  I smiled. "Not on my wedding day, it won't be."

  I slid easily from my casual clothes and into silk, stepping out of the change room with less discomfort than before. The lighter dress permitted me more freedom of movement, though not as much as I liked. I turned before the mirror, admiring the style as I thought of what I might change.

  "It's very pretty, Mummy," Marina said. "Can I have a dress like that when I'm grown up?"

  I laughed. "Sweetheart, you'll have a dress like this in a few weeks, the same as me."

  The shop assistant looked hesitant. "Ma'am, it takes up to ten weeks to get dresses made to your measurements…"

  My smile was tight. "Is Michèle here today?"

  She hesitated and I knew the answer already.

  "Where is she?" I asked.

  "She's in the office, doing the quarterly accounts," the woman admitted. "I'll see if she has a moment."

  I smiled to myself and sat down, smoothing the silk beneath my fingers.

  "Can I help you?" The woman who looked enquiringly at me was as gold as the ring I'd wear the day I married Joe. Her hair and skin were the same shade, as if she spent much of her spare time in the sun.

  I turned my beaming smile on Michèle as I stood up. "I'd like you to use this as a base for a design I have in mind."

  She looked from me to Marina. "For yourself and the little girl?"

  I felt my smile widen. "That's right."

  She eyed me, her mouth moving as if she were still adding up figures in the office behind her. "It will be very expensive and take eight weeks."

  I met her eyes. "Four weeks."

  Michèle's eyes were more calculating still. "Do you know what jewellery you will wear with this?"

  I pulled the box from my bag. "Pearls," I replied.

  She pursed her lips. "Pearls are somewhat old-fashioned. Are you sure?"

  I opened the box of black pearls so that she could see the contents. Her sharp intake of breath told me she would design my dress.

  "Once we've finished the design, I need to take these to Kailis, to arrange the jewellery. I would aim for classic, more than old-fashioned," I replied.